One More Thing

Chapter Fourteen: Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves

It doesn't take long for things to go back to normal.

My phone has stopped buzzing by the morning, and I see that Jude has left my last message on read.

When I go downstairs to get breakfast, Sydney is sat at the table with a bowl of Special K. She's staring at me with one eyebrow raised, as if she knows something I don't.

"Did you have a good birthday?" she asks.

I stop in my tracks. Out of all the things I expected her to say, this was definitely not one of them.

"Uh, yes. It was good, thank you," I say.

She doesn't say anything and goes back to eating her cereal.

I make my way over to the fridge. Today is a Saturday, which means that I don't need to rush to get ready for school. 

Halfway through my preparation of jam on toast, Cathy comes downstairs. She's smiling, preoccupied with her phone.

"What a good lad," she says.

"Who's that?" asks Sydney. 

"Jude. He's agreed to help us clear the leaves off the patio, bless him."

Sydney shrugs, as if this is something that has no relevance to her. I guess it doesn't, in all fairness.

"I'm gonna get ready for the gym," she says, before getting up from her chair.

I look over to see her striding towards the stairs, long blonde ponytail swishing behind her.

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A couple of hours later, the doorbell rings.

No one goes to answer it, so I do. 

Jude is standing on the doorstep, hands in pockets. He's wearing an olive green beanie which hides most of his hair, except for his long frizzy fringe. He gives me a friendly little wave.

"Hey," I smile.

"Looks like I'm your gardener for the day," he says. 

I laugh. "You'd better come in then."

Cathy sees us standing in the hall and beckons us into the kitchen. 

"Sorry Jude! I heard the doorbell go but I was in the middle of cleaning the oven. Would you like a drink? Let me show you where the gardening things are."

I linger awkwardly, unsure of whether to follow them or not. 

"You can join us too, Valerie. In fact, maybe you could both work together? I'm sure Jude wouldn't mind a helping hand! No pressure though, if you have other plans."

"No it's fine," I say, maybe little too quickly. "I don't mind helping."

Jude gives me an amused smile as we step outside into the garden. It's been months since I've been out here properly. During the summer, the garden was one of my most frequented places. I remember one evening in June, Mae and I sat on the patio with a boombox and a shopping trolley's worth of crisps, Oreos and Alcopops. We stayed out until the early hours of the morning, watching the sun set in the pink sky.

That day seems distant and hazy now.

Right here in this moment, I can't even imagine sitting outside. Brown and orange leaves cover the grass in wet mushy clumps and the patio chairs are covered in bird poo. The thought of being out here for longer than five minutes is utterly miserable.

We follow Cathy to the shed. It's a little odd, being shown around my own home by someone who was a stranger just a few weeks ago, but Cathy is so good natured that I don't really mind all that much. 

"You'll probably only need these," she says, throwing a rake and two pairs of gardening gloves into a wheelbarrow. "But if you need anything else, don't be afraid to go into the shed and help yourself."

Jude thanks her and heads back down the garden, pushing the wheelbarrow with the kind of effortlessness that I can't help but envy.

Cathy goes back into the house and it's suddenly just the two of us.

Jude scoops up a pair of gardening gloves and throws them at me playfully.

"Thanks, I guess," I say, meeting his eyes.

He smiles, little creases forming around the outer corners of his eyelids.

"If I sweep the leaves into a big pile, do you want to pick them up and throw them in here?" he nudges the wheelbarrow.

"Sure," I say.

We get to work, Jude hunched over the rake. There is a cold wind which numbs my cheeks and gnaws at my fingertips. It's very unpleasant, but I start to warm up a bit from the constant crouching down to pick up the leaves.

After a few minutes, something cold and wet smacks against the side of my face. I shriek, watching in horror as a clump of muddy leaves falls onto the grass with a splat.

"Shit! Sorry," says Jude, dropping the rake.

I turn to face him, my face burning with humiliation. He reaches out a gloved hand and gently wipes the mud away from my cheek.

"What was that all about?" I ask.

"It wasn't deliberate."

"You sure?" I tease.

"Well, what if it was?" he taunts, his eyes flashing orange in the sun. I crouch down and scoop up a fistful of leaves, throwing them at him.

He laughs. "Holy crap!"

He chucks a pile of leaves back at me and before I know it, we're in a full-blown battle. I aim for his face but miss and hit his beanie. He's guffawing with laughter, a twig caught up in his hair.

He grins devilishly and gathers up a huge ball of leaves almost the size of a beach ball and flings it at me. Before it hits my head, it erupts into a shower of copper confetti and my eyes are clouded with dust.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I crouch down and find a soggy branch. Wielding the thing like a dagger, I run towards him laughing.

That's when I slip.

I land on the grass, flat on my face. My mouth is filled with dirt and I think I can taste blood.

"Damn!" shouts Jude. "You okay?"

He runs over to me and lifts my face gently upwards.

"You're bleeding."

"That was so embarrassing," I splutter.

"Embarrassing? Oh Valerie," he chuckles.

I sigh, getting myself up from the ground. Jude reaches out a gloved hand to help me up and I take it.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Think I just cut my lip on something but it's not too bad."

He lets go of my hand and pats me on the shoulder. "Let's get you back inside. Cathy will sort your lip out."

"Yeah, in a bit. Honestly, I'm fine."

Jude raises an eyebrow.

"Look, it's stopped bleeding," I say, examining my face in the reflective logo on the back of my phone. "Let's finish what we came here to do, then we'll go back inside."

Jude just smiles at me, shaking his head.